Rituals - Yee Sang: Celebrating Chinese New Year with a Prosperity Toss

When you think of Chinese New Year rituals, one of the most cherished traditions is the Yee Sang Prosperity Toss, also known as Lo Hei or Yusheng. This vibrant and flavorful salad is more than just a dish - it's a symbolic gesture of welcoming good fortune and abundance into the year ahead.

What Is Yee Sang?

Traditionally, Yee Sang consists of thinly sliced raw fish, paired with a colorful shredded vegetables and an assortment of sauces and toppings. Each ingredient carries a specific meaning, representing well-wishes such as health, wealth, and happiness for the upcoming year.

The Fun and Meaning Behind the Ritual

Yee Sang is a lovely ritual that any family can imbue with their own meanings and intentions for the year. It's also a whole lot of fun. Once you have added the ingredients, blessing them as you go, the idea is to use chopsticks to ‘toss up good fortune’. Many believe that the higher the toss the greater the fortune and there is nothing like families throwing food into the air to elicit peals of laughter. To ritualise Yee Sang this is what we do. 

How to Celebrate Yee Sang at Home

If you're in Singapore, you’ll find plenty of pre-packaged Yee Sang kits available at supermarkets bu my favourite is the Yee Sang set from Soup Restaurant.

The pre-packaged salad comes with each component separated, allowing you to add personal touches to the ritual. Here's how you can make the most of this tradition:

1. Gather Around the Table: Bring everyone together before the meal starts.
2. Declare the Blessings: Assign one person to mindfully add each ingredient into the mix, speaking blessings and intentions aloud. Common blessings are below.
3. Make it Personal: Feel free to adapt the traditional blessings to suit your personal goals and aspirations for the year.
4. Toss Up Good Fortune: Once all ingredients are combined, everyone grabs their chopsticks and enthusiastically tosses the salad, calling out wishes for prosperity, health, and happiness.

The Blessings

1. First add the raw fish, a symbol of abundance and prosperity and say "May you have abundance all year and every year"
2. Add the pomelo or lime segments, a representation of luck and say "May we always experience good luck and opportunity" 
3. Add the shredded white radish, a symbol for career success and say “May we feel fulfilled by our work and be rewarded well for our effort”
4. Add the shredded green radish, a symbol for eternal youth and say “May we always feel youthful and full of vitality”
5. Add the shredded carrot, a symbol for good luck and say, “May we live our lives blessed by luck!’
6. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts, a symbol of material wealth, over the salad and say “May our homes always attract positive energy, wealth and abundance”
7. Sprinkle the sesame seeds, a symbol for business success, over the salad and say “May our ventures and businesses flourish”
8. Add the spices, often cinnamon and pepper and say “May we always feel protected and live with passion”
9. Add the pillow shaped crisps, a representation of wealth through their colour and shape and say “May the path that we walk be laid in gold!’
10. Drizzle the oil over the salad in a circular motion and say “May prosperity come to us from all directions”
11. Drizzle the plum sauce over the salad in a circular motion and say “May all our wishes be bound and may be always feel grateful to have each other”.
12. Standing around the salad, everyone uses their chopsticks to toss the salad, lifting the ingredients high into the air and saying “Lo Hei” – lets toss to good fortune.

A Tradition Filled with Joy

Whether you're observing a deeply rooted family tradition or trying it for the first time, Yee Sang offers a meaningful way to embrace the spirit of Chinese New Year. The combination of intention, shared laughter, and delicious flavors makes this ritual truly unforgettable.